3D-printed explosive cannot detonate until full of fluid

Technology

An explosive full of gaps can solely detonate after a liquid is poured into it, which might make it unusually protected for transportation and storage

By Karmela Padavic-Callaghan

Transporting explosives can be dangerous — Transporting explosives will be harmful

Getty Photographs

A Swiss cheese-like construction constituted of an explosive materials affords a promising method to safely retailer and transport explosives. The 3D-printed design detonates solely when the holes in it are full of a liquid.

Explosives are helpful in industries like mining, however they’re additionally hazardous as a result of there may be all the time a danger of unintentional detonation, like when they’re uncovered to warmth or shaken up in transport. Alexander Mueller at Los Alamos Nationwide Laboratory in New Mexico and his colleagues created an explosive that can’t …

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